Figural Group: Raven Surmounted by Three Seated Figures
Haida
Brooklyn Museum photograph
Object Label
Although the exact meaning of this sculpture is unknown, it may represent the first people joining Raven, a key figure in Haida oral history. There are many tales of Raven traveling throughout the land and water. He is said to have released daylight from a box, and he acts as both a benevolent being and a trickster, or mischievous being. Raven is believed to have created the Haida when he saw small people inside a beautiful clamshell and convinced them to join him. Here the long-haired figure in front may be a shaman, a priest who uses magic for curing the sick, divining the hidden, and controlling events. The figure at the back wears a hat crowned with chiefly rings and a frog emblem, indicators of the wearer’s important status.
Caption
Haida. Figural Group: Raven Surmounted by Three Seated Figures, 1860–1880. Argillite, 10 x 15 1/2 x 3 3/4 in. (25.4 x 39.4 x 9.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, By exchange, 72.5.1. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Frequent Art Questions
Was this particular piece an inspiration for the artist Bill Reid?
Bill Reid was definitely looking at works like the Figural Group made by a Haida artist. Reid developed a keen interest in Haida art in his late teens/early twenties. His mother was from the Kaadaas gaah Kiiguwaay, Raven/Wolf Clan of T'anuu, more commonly known as the Haida, one of the First Nations of the Pacific coast. His maternal grandfather first taught him about Haida art. He had himself been trained by Charles Edenshaw, a Haida artist of great renown. Looking at his work and this Figural Group: Raven Surmounted by Three Seated Figures, I can definitely see similarities.Yes me too, I instantly thought of his work at the YVR airport The Spirit of Haida Gwaii in how the figures are rendered, and setting in a vessel.
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